The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 223

The next morning.

Before she even opened her eyes, Nora's arm slid out from under the covers, blindly patting the nightstand out of sheer muscle memory.

Maloney had been awake for a while.

Hearing the rustling, he turned to watch her.

She was looking for her busted phone.

A phone that was currently shattered into pieces.

Maloney leaned in close, his voice a low, teasing drawl in her ear. "Looking for your favorite toy? It didn't survive the night."

Nora's hand froze.

Her eyes snapped open instantly.

The memory of last night came flooding back.

Specifically, the memory of her husband spanking her multiple times.

And pestering her with kisses when she was desperately trying to sleep.

He had been entirely unreasonable.

It was infuriating.

Shoving him away, Nora vaulted out of bed to hunt for her backup device.

She moved so fast Maloney couldn't even grab her.

So much for the doctor's strict forty-eight-hour bedrest orders.

She was completely ignoring medical advice.

Marching into the hallway, she fished an old phone out of a storage drawer.

The moment it powered on, a barrage of notifications from Cassidy flooded the screen.

They were all from late last night.

[Hahahaha, you will never guess what I just heard.]

[Your husband put the entire hotel on total lockdown looking for you.]

[His security team went absolutely feral sweeping the building.]

[And then they realized he had already found you and bolted. Hahahaha! They were all complaining about how unhinged he's getting.]

Unhinged was putting it mildly.

He used to be so stoic and composed.

Now, that illusion was thoroughly shattered.

Nora typed back: [Did you make it home safely last night?]

Cassidy replied instantly: [Nope.]

[Didn't get in until past 1 AM, but I secured the massive contract.]

Nora: [Please take care of yourself. You're pregnant.]

Cassidy: [No time for that.]

[I'm telling you, once this project launches, my margins will officially crush my brother's.]

[Do you know how insanely validating this is? My parents funneled resources into him for twenty years, and I beat him in three on my own.]

[I know they won't respect me for it. They'll just think I'm a bored rich girl causing unnecessary drama instead of marrying well.]

[I don't care. I'm not doing this to prove them wrong. I'm doing it to prove myself right.]

[I'm going to prove that the only advantage my brother has over me is his gender.]

[Wait, no. Strike that.]

[Gender isn't an advantage. It's just my parents' blind prejudice. Aside from their bias, he's got nothing on me.]

Riding the high of closing the deal, Cassidy was clearly buzzing with adrenaline.

She practically dumped a whole essay into the chat.

Nora smiled and replied: [Looks like we need to plan another victory dinner.]

[Let's aim for next weekend. I'm swamped for the next few days,] Cassidy agreed. [And we're picking a new private club. I'll have my assistant find somewhere elite.]

The two of them continued bantering excitedly.

Maloney leaned against the doorframe, watching his barefoot wife squatting over a drawer in her pajamas, furiously typing on her phone.

Maloney clearly had no intention of elaborating.

And Nora didn't have the energy to press the issue.

She decided to let it slide, considering how terrified he had been for her safety.

A few days later.

The Capital Elite business world was rocked by a series of massive shakeups.

First, the Quigley estate was officially bought out by a rival corporation.

Second, the Sinclair family's internal power struggles escalated into highly publicized lawsuits.

Third, the cornerstone tech projects in The Tech District successfully launched. The syndicate led by Maloney, which heavily involved Diana's empire, raked in staggering profits and prestige.

And fourth, The Westport Resort Project—the most highly anticipated real estate venture of the decade—officially broke ground.

It was yet another cutthroat, wildly lucrative end to the fiscal year.

The three girls finally gathered for their delayed victory dinner.

They met at a brand new, ultra-exclusive private club. The ambiance was far more refined, and their VIP suite offered absolute privacy.

Sipping on hot tea, Cassidy was breaking down the Quigley family's collapse to Nora and Jasmine Smith.

"The Quigleys didn't sell their company just because of the massive public boycotts over the scandals."

"Yates's father had a stroke brought on by severe hypertension. They managed to save him, but the complications left him permanently unfit to run the board."

"Yates is grossly incompetent and drowning in his own PR nightmare. He couldn't take the reins."

"Honestly, his dad made a smart move cashing out while the shares were still worth something, rather than letting Yates bankrupt them entirely."

"I never thought the Quigleys would go under before Jasmine's awful family did."

Cassidy looked pointedly at Jasmine. "You need to watch your back, Jas. Yates is definitely going to come looking for someone to blame."

Jasmine blinked innocently. "Oh, he already tried."

Nora, realizing she had completely missed the gossip, leaned in. "What?"

Jasmine let out a wicked little laugh. "He's in a pretty miserable spot right now."